The Corner Store
by AlliceKitty13
Summary: When Alice Brandon decided to take a job at a nearby gas station, she had no idea she'd be getting to know the love of her life. JasperXAlice
1. Chapter 1

It was just another day, the first day off Alice had in almost a week. She was sat at home, rereading Les Mis when she was overwhelmed by the sudden craving for some soda and chocolate. Slipping on her ballet flats, she debated a jacket, it was October but relatively warm for the season.

Deciding against it, she peeked her head into her mother's room. "Hey mom, I'm just headed off to the corner store real quick. "The older woman gave a muffled reply indicating that she'd heard her daughter. Mrs. Brandon had been picking up some extra late shifts lately and consequently had been napping quite often.

Alice was 23, free to come and go as she pleased, but she liked letting her mom know where she was headed, it felt like a sign of respect. Once outside, she decided against the car. The store was only a block and a half away, and Alice always loved a good walk. Especially at this time of year. Autumn was her second favorite season, the way the air smelled, the inexplicable energy everybody seemed to feel. It was peaceful to her.

She made the short trek to the shop, quickly picking out her favorite soda and candy bar combination and adding a bag of chips to save herself a second trip later. Though, everyone knew she'd be back regardless. She'd made frequent trips to this shop daily as far back as she could remember.

From the day her parents had trusted her to make the short journey alone, stopping here had been a part of her daily routine. She knew every cashier by name; a few even had nicknames for her. Of course, she thought, glancing at the woman working the counter, she was sure some of them didn't even know she existed. Her thoughts drifted to one of the night shift workers, Edward, whom she wished _didn't_ know she existed. She and Edward had graduated together; he'd always been a bit of a moody jerk. She tried to avoid the place when she saw his vehicle outside.

Deciding she was happy with her selection, she approached the counter, waiting patiently for the sole cashier to finish what she'd been doing. Rosalie Hale was the longest-running employee Alice could remember, as much a staple in the store as Alice herself. Finding a stopping-place in her paperwork, the tall blonde stood and came over to help the smaller woman.

Alice had to take a moment to stop and admire the girl. She was roughly five years her senior and was the embodiment of everything Alice aspired to be. Rosalie had a way of commanding all the attention in a room effortlessly, always the epitome of cool and confident. She could be a bitch, but never in a mean way, rather in a way that forced you to respect her. She'd mastered the look of 'I don't care.' in a way that still came off as professional. Every time Alice was in her presence, she was filled with intimidation and admiration.

Rosalie didn't speak a word as she rung up the items, only opening her mouth to read off the total. She paused for a moment as she bagged up the snacks. "Hey, you're Alice Brandon, right?"

"Yes," Alice stated in confusion, wondering what on earth Rosalie could want with her, and shaken that someone so impressive could actually know her name.

"Did you apply for a job here?"

"Oh," Alice had forgotten about that entirely. It had been about two months ago after an argument with her boss. Tiring of the way she was being treated at the grocery store, she'd applied at the small gas station in an act of defiance. "Yeah, I did."

"Awesome, Ed just fucking informed me he'll be leaving us in a week. Couldn't even give me decent notice, the jackass. Anyway, can you start Thursday?"

Thursday? Alice thought to herself, that was so soon. Besides, she'd smoothed things over at the grocery. She had just picked up a new car payment, though, and it would be nice to have the extra money around to help with that. Making a quick decision, she accepted, "Sure, Thursday sounds great."

"Perfect, you wanna come back at like eight tomorrow so we can take care of the paperwork bullshit?"

"Yeah." Alice tried not to sound too excited about the opportunity. "I'll be here, thanks, Rosalie."

"Sure, whatever." The girl waved her hand, indicating she was done with the conversation and walked back over to her paperwork. Alice made her way out of the small shop, trying to look cool and calm as she strode through the parking lot. However, as soon as she reached the street and was out of the shop's view, she took off in a sprint, excited to get home.

Upon reaching her home, she proceeded to bound up the front steps positively beaming. "Cynthia!" She exclaimed, running to her younger sister's room. "You'll never believe what's just happened!"

"What?" The younger girl questioned, looking up from her phone. Cynthia was 15, a freshman in high school, and usually completely absorbed in her phone. She was a beautiful girl, short for her age with luxurious long blonde hair often pulled up into a bun. She set her phone on the bed next to her and turned to look at her sister intently.

"I was just at the corner store, remember how I applied there about a month ago? Rosalie offered me a job!"

"Who's Rosalie?"

"The really cool pretty blonde who's always there." Cynthia simply shrugged, causing Alice to roll her eyes. "The point is, I just got hired!"

"That's cool, I guess." The smaller girl picked up her phone, clearly uninterested and done talking.

Alice shook her head lovingly at her sister and went ahead into her own room, collapsing on the bed. Turning her head to stare at her closet, she began contemplating what to wear tomorrow. Deciding she needed some help with such an important decision, she rang up one of her best friends. Of course, Jake didn't answer, it was typical. Jacob Black was notoriously bad at answering his phone. She sent off a quick text, "_Hey Jake, call me back ASAP. I have NEWS!_"

Since Jake was a nogo, she tried Bella, who was also no answer. Forgoing the text message knowing her friend would IM her later, she made a final effort and opened Facebook to message Leah.

Leah Clearwater had been working abroad in the UK for the past three years. Calling and texting added up overseas, so the pair had taken to communicating mostly via Facebook. It was only one in the afternoon, making it nine in London; hopefully, that meant Leah was still awake.

"_Hey, lovely," _Alice typed. "_Got some great news._"

Luckily, she didn't have to wait too long for a response. "_Hey, girly! What's the news?_"

"_You know that corner store by my house? Guess who's now employed there!_"

"_Really! Alice, that's amazing! I always knew you'd end up working there. They really should give you a plaque on the wall reading 'Customer of the decade' lmfao."_

_"lol"_

_"Anyway, love, I've gotta go. I'm on my way out for a date!"_

_"ooooo Good luck. I want details later!"_

_"Lolz, Luv ya 3."_

Alice locked her phone and set it gently on the table, overflowing with stuffed animals beside her bed. Perching on the edge facing her closet, she stared intently into the abyss of clothing. Alice nodded to herself with determination and tucked her short dark hair behind her ears. She stood and began to look through her dresses, trying to figure out just what she would wear tomorrow.

**...**

**This one has been on my mind for years, I'm really excited to put it to paper so to speak. Please to your author and favor and review 3**


	2. Chapter 2

Alice's alarm went off at Seven AM the next day, and she quickly hit the snooze button before rolling over and falling back to sleep. The annoying tune of the alarm began playing once again at Seven-twenty, and she begrudgingly shut it off and crawled out of bed. She sat herself in front of her mirror to do a quick but impeccable makeup job. Smiling at the results, she skipped over to her closet to slip on the dress and sandals she'd picked out the night before. She took a moment to admire herself in the mirror before checking the time. It was now seven-forty five, she took a steadying breath and made her way out of the house.

She tried to pep herself up to bite down the nerves as she made the seemingly shorter than usual trek to the corner shop. Upon opening the door, she froze. Rosalie was nowhere in sight, rather in her place was a tall, gorgeous, blonde man. Jasper. Alice didn't know his last name; she didn't know anything about him. What she did know was he'd worked there for the past five months, and despite having hardly spoken in that time, she'd begun to develop something of a crush on the man.

Alice tentatively approached the counter, "Hey, is Rosalie here?" she asked, hoping her voice wasn't shaking. She'd been so caught up in the prospect of a new opportunity that she hadn't considered the fact that this would make Jasper her co-worker.

"No, I'm supposed to tell you she's running late and will be here shortly." He didn't look up from his phone the entire time he'd been speaking to her. "Word of advice, if Rose tells you she'll meet you at a certain time, show up like thirty minutes later than that. She's got this idea in her head that other people's time doesn't matter, and the rest of the world will wait on her." He finally looked up at her, clearly annoyed. "Just take a free soda and find something to do on your phone." Alice looked back at him, confused, "You work here now, fountain pops free."

Alice obliged and took a moment to figure out just what to do with herself. Jasper hadn't said a word to her in the past few minutes, and she was beginning to feel awkward and uncomfortable. She finally decided to lean up against a sandwich cooler near the counter. Thankfully she didn't have to wait very long as Rosalie soon walked in with an air of confidence as though her being late wasn't an issue in the slightest.

The noise Jasper made as he quickly clocked out and grabbed his keys indicated otherwise. He looked at her coldly and snapped, "Next time you want to be an hour late, I'm locking the doors and leaving."

"Whatever, just go home." She barely looked at him as she spoke, setting her bag behind the counter; his words didn't seem to affect her in the slightest. He glared at her before turning on his heel and leaving. Rosalie turned to look at Alice, "Thank's for waiting, did you get those forms filled out?"

"Forms?" Alice questioned. "I didn't get any forms."

"Jesus fucking christ, Jasper was supposed to have you fill all that shit out while you were waiting." She glared in the direction of the door before squatting down and began rifling through some papers under the counter. Once she found what she'd been looking for, she thrust a small stack of papers in Alice's direction. "Get these filled in." She then turned to count the drawer of the register.

Alice quickly filled out the new hire paperwork. She had worked enough jobs in the past six years that it was almost second nature. Mr. and Mrs. Brandon didn't make much, and Alice hated the idea of asking for any from them, so she'd picked up a job at a retail store as soon as her father would allow.

Picking up the completed paperwork, she turned to Rosalie, "I've finished."

Rosalie took the packet from Alice and tucked into a folder laid out on the counter. "Awesome, now we can do the interview."

"Shouldn't you interview me before having me fill out all the official stuff?" Alice questioned.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "You're hired, I just have to interview you, so I don't get a call from district." She took the seat Alice had been occupying on the stool. "So, why do you want this job."

Deciding to answer honestly, Alice spoke, "I applied after an argument with my boss at Dock Foods. I don't like how much control they have over appearance. Like, it feels like having any ounce of individuality stripped away."

Rosalie perked up, "Oh! I used to work there; I know exactly what you mean. It feels like having your soul slowly sucked away every day you're there."

"Yes!" Alice gleamed elated that there was finally someone else who understood, "Anyway, I've seen that it's a bit more lax here and thought I'd take a chance. Besides, as my friends like to joke, I'm here so much I might as well get paid for it."

"Ok," Rosalie laughed, "So what are your pay expectations?"

"Oh," Alice suddenly felt uncomfortable; this was that part she always hated. She was tired of minimum wage but always felt sheepish asking for money. Sure, her father had told her to take what's offered to get her foot in the door, and eventually, the raises would come. But she'd worked at her first job for three years and never seen an extra penny, just one item off the long list of reasons she'd left. "Well, I'd like at least $7.75." She finally spoke, finding the confidence to ask for an entire fifty cents more than she'd ever seen.

Rosalie's face turned shocked as she tried to hold in a laugh. "Starting wage here is $9.25, $9.75 if you're game for the night shift." This information gave Alice pause, that was life-changing, more than she'd ever dared hope for. "Think that'll be Ok?" Rosalie asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Yeah," Alice nodded fervently, "Yeah, that'll be perfect!"

"Ok, so let's talk hours. When are you available."

"Oh, I'm usually at Dock in the mornings from seven until one in the afternoon. So I can come in anytime after that." Alice answered it would be hard on her, but it was far from the first time she'd worked multiple jobs, and she knew she'd be able to handle it.

"Ok, I can put you down for the three to eleven shift." Rosalie pulled out a schedule and started penciling in some shifts. "Ok," She finished and handed the paper to Alice, who looked it over carefully. "I need you trained on every shift; you'll do the morning tomorrow with me, some afternoons with Angela next week, and an overnight with Edward next Thursday."

The schedule looked great for the most part, but the overnight with Edward didn't sit well with her. They hadn't gotten along in school, and after he'd broken her best friend's heart, causing her to move across the country, things had gotten tense. They still hung around in the same circles, but she had never forgiven him, doing her absolute best to avoid the guy at all costs. She scanned over the schedule and spotted an opening. "Actually, could I train Wednesday with Jasper instead?" She asked, hopefully taking a chance.

"Yeah, I don't care as long as you get it done." Came Rosalie's uninterested reply. "That's all I need from you today, so I'll see you in the morning."

"Alright, I'll see you then," Alice called, headed out the door smiling; it wasn't until she was halfway home that she realized her mistake. On the one hand, she'd avoided spending eight hours alone with someone she hated. On the other, now she'd had to endure those same hours with the cute guy she had a crush on.

She stopped in her tracks, panicking over if she had made the right decision, over which option was worse.

She took a moment to process this realization, picking up her pace, needing to get home to talk to someone about this.

Bella was out, talking to her about anything involving Edward was absolutely out of the question. Jake was an option; he loved bashing on Edward more than she did. However, it was hard talking to him about crushes. She made her decision as she reached the front steps, rushing inside and heading straight for her room. She took a seat on the floor in front of her bed, and hurriedly dialed Leah's number.

**...**

**Wow guys, sorry it took me so long to get this out. My only excuse it the holidays are a busy time for me. **

**Thank you to everyone who's followed this, please review if you have the time. It means the world to me 3**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here it is, you guys! Chapter Three. I'm honestly sorry it took me so long to get this up. Between depression hitting me hard in January to COVID shutting down my primary source of income, forcing me to take more paying writing gigs instead of being able to write out of enjoyment, it's been rough. Life is slowly starting to return to a semblance of normalcy, and I intend to get back on schedule with all my works.**

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Tonight was the night, the training shift with Jasper that she'd been absolutely dreading. The week leading up to the event had been filled with many conversations. She was growing desperately nervous with every passing day and desperately wanted advice.

Jake had suggested switching back to the shift with Edward. As far as Alice was concerned, that was absolutely out of the question. This shift with Jasper would be torturous but for vastly different reasons than working it with Edward.

Bella had offered to stay up the whole night with her long-distance; the thought gave Alice solace knowing her friend would be just a text away. Ultimately, however, she had turned the offer down; Bella was finishing university. As much as she wanted her best friends support, she couldn't bear the thought of taking away those precious hours of sleep.

Her mother and sister hadn't been much help at all, merely questioning her interest in the man. "Ew, that guy's weird." Had been Cynthia's only response.

Her new co-worker, a sweet, reserved girl named Angela, had warned her. Angela had heard a few rumors about Jasper that didn't paint him in the best light, and she didn't want Alice caught up in drama. Alice greatly appreciated Angela's words and was glad to have a new friend, but chose to decide about the mysterious Jasper for herself. Rumors were rarely accurate, and Alice always wanted to get both sides of a story before making a judgment. Towards the end of her training with Angela, Alice had admitted her crush on the man. "I get he's attractive." Angela had told her. "Just whatever you do, don't sleep with him."

In the end, it was Leah who gave the best advice. Her input had been to go in and train. She was there to work, not to date. Jasper was human, and if they connected awesome, if not, it's no loss.

Alice kept that in mind as she stood motionless in the parking lot outside the shop. Leah's words had given her confidence as she made the trek over, but that confidence was waning. Taking a deep breath, she made her way inside only to find Edward at the counter. Confused, Alice snuck her way to the small back room and placed her backpack on the table. She straightened out her cardigan and made her way to where Edward was perched on a stool writing on a piece of paper directly in front of the computer used as a time clock. He glanced up at her noting her presence, and moved without a word allowing Alice to clock in.

"I thought Jasper was working tonight." She asked nervously after a few moments of silence from Edward.

"You're early." He muttered, looking up from his paperwork. "And I'd put down money that he's going to be late as revenge for Rose being late this morning."

"Isn't that a little unfair to you?" Alice didn't particularly care about Edward being inconvenienced, but it was a little petty.

"It's whatever," He shrugged. "This is my last day here before I move to Oregon."

"Oregon!" Alice exclaimed in a panic. That was where Bella had moved, for university. She began to go over options, should she tell Bella he was moving to her area, were his intentions to locate her.

"Relax, Alice. It's a big state, and I got a good job offer. I'm not going to go looking for her." He rolled his eyes. They didn't continue talking and shared a tense moment. Fortunately, that was when the front door opened, and Jasper walked in, right on time.

Edward gathered his belongings and clocked out; he faced Alice before he left. "For what it's worth, can you tell her I'm sorry."

Alice stared at him, appraisingly. He'd broken up with Bella before leaving for college; he'd said some hurtful things and completely blocked her from his life. Honestly, though, if Edward genuinely didn't care about her anymore, he didn't try to lead her on, and he did seem genuinely apologetic. That being said, Bella had been an inconsolable wreck after he'd left and practically ruined their senior year. Sure, it led to Bella bonding with Jake and, in turn, the three of them becoming the best of friends. But Alice still had trouble forgiving Edward knowing what Bella had gone through. "I'll think about it." She nodded.

Jasper, who had been watching the interaction, questioned Alice once Edward was out of the building. "So," he leaned against the wall next to the register. "What was that about?"

"High School drama," Alice responded. "So, aren't you gonna clock in?" She asked, wanting something else to talk about.

"Not yet, I'll wait a while, so Rose thinks I was late."

"If you wanted her to think you were late, why not just actually be late."

"That wouldn't be fair to you."

"Oh, well... thanks." Alices stomach fluttered; she told herself he was just a nice person, and it had nothing to do with her specifically, but she really wanted it to because of her. "Why exactly do you want Rosalie to think you were late?" She swallowed and moved on.

Jasper laughed at that, "Trust me, shorty, you don't want to get in the middle of our drama." He smiled at her and abruptly moved on. "Anyway, I've gotta show you how to do the end of day crap."

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**I'm eternally grateful to everyone who's enjoyed this work. Thank you for reading, comments keep me going 3**


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